The present invention relates to a food separation utensil. Ground meats, such as hamburger, ground poultry and sausage are staples in many culinary environments. These foods, while cooking, may adhere to themselves. When this occurs, both the taste and texture of a dish may be altered. Furthermore, certain ground meats, such as ground chicken and pork, may need to be thoroughly cooked in order to kill any potentially dangerous bacteria.
Traditionally, tools for breaking apart foods, such as ground meats are electrical. Electrical devices require access to a power source, which is typically an outlet. While cooking, it may be inconvenient for a user to locate an outlet. Furthermore, plugging a device into an outlet inherently limits the movement of the device as well as provides an electrical cord which could become tangled and lead to accidents in a kitchen.
Furthermore, known manual devices are ineffective in enabling a user to fully control the texture and consistency of the food product. Additionally, a type of manual food separation utensil commonly referred to as a “masher” frequently fails to adequately separate food while simultaneously preventing the “overmashing” of the food products. Overmashing occurs where the manual utensil does not provide sufficient space for the food product during separation, and the texture and consistency becomes too viscous or finely broken down such as to be undesirable for a user.
Thus, there is a need amongst the known food separation devices for a new device that provides both improved mobility and flexibility to a user when separating food products for cooking, while additionally preventing the “overmashing” of the food product. In light of this need, the present invention provides a food separation utensil that includes two distinct blade configurations to increase the amount of control provided to a user when separating food products, such as ground meats and vegetables, in order to achieve a desired texture and consistency.